SALISBURY CATHEDRAL

Evening Star, Issue 25700, 25 January 1946, Page 10

SALISBURY CATHEDRAL

STRUCTURAL CONDITION ■ Mr W. A. Forsyth, consulting architect for Salisbury Cathedral, speaking to the Ecclesiologica'l Society in London, said it was the responsibility of the Chapter to maintain qualified assistance in their vigil over " this vast and fragile inheritance," reports the ' Times ' of London. In modern engineering a load of six tons to r the square foot would be deemed safe, yet the great weight of the piers carrying the tower and-spire indicated that there were 20 tons t'o the square foot on the gravel soil. The bases of the piers had in several instances tilted, but the foundation remained firm. This tilting, or depression, had not increased for hundreds of years. " The structural condition, however, is not stable, nor indeed reliable, but the general state after seven hundred, and in part six hundred years, indicates the great quality of the masonry. Constant qualified supervision is indispensable." Externally there was practically n'o indication of a faulty core within. Some internal movement of piers and arches was visible, mainly as reaction to displacement by the _ stupendous central load. It had existed for at least six centuries with comparatively little subsequent development.